Justin Hilliard of Cincinnati earned a Michigan scholarship offer with one day at summer camp. / Tim Sullivan / Special to the DFP

Written by

Tim Sullivan

Detroit Free Press Special Writer

Michigan’s 2014 class – which will sign in February – is already more than half-filled.

The U-M coaching staff has reeled in 11 commitments (plus greyshirt Brady Pallante, who will join the team a year after his classmates), with only 17-20 openings total expected come Signing Day. The prospects to fill those positions have already been identified, for the most part.

Each year, the Wolverine Technique School serves as one of the mid-summer recruiting flashpoints for Michigan fans. In recent years, the recruiting focus has shifted from the rising senior class to the underclassmen, but it’s still an important event nonetheless.

A few players who already held Michigan offers took the field in Ann Arbor Monday for the beginning of live action in this year’s summer camp. 2015 Warren (Ohio) Harding defensive lineman Hjalte Froholdt – a native of Denmark who is in Ohio as a foreign exchange student, but hopes to move to the States for his final two year – and Downers Grove (Ill.) South 2016 offensive lineman Erik Swenson headed to treetown with offers already in hand.

It was the newest U-M offer that drew attention. Cincinnati St. Xavier 2015 linebacker Justin Hilliard is no stranger to picking up scholarship offers – he has 20 of them before starting his junior season of high school football – but the Wolverines became a big one Monday afternoon.

The 6-foot-2, 225-pounder showed off not only his impressive size, but a physique that has little bad weight, and plenty of musculature. He was able to cover running backs and tight ends in space, even though that will probably be a small part of his college role as a middle/strongside linebacker. Hilliard’s older brother, C.J., is a 2014 running back who recently committed to the University of Iowa, but it’s clear already that Justin – whose other offers already include the likes of Miami (Fla.), Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Oklahoma – may be destined for bigger things.

Through one day of Michigan’s camp, news is already starting to roll in. The prospects will only continue to be higher-profile through Thursday. Detroit Cass Tech’s program is well known, and the Technicians’ contingent arrives later this week. So too does Berea (Ky.) Madison Southern 2015 running back Damien Harris, who already holds a U-M offer.

Tim Sullivan is the Football Recruiting Editor of The Wolverine magazine and TheWolverine.com. He is also a contributor to national football recruiting coverage on the Rivals.com network. You can follow him on Twitter @TimS_Wolverine, and followe The Wolverine for the latest on U-M football recruiting.